Uprising (ErenxLevi)
by BirdCannotFly
Summary: Present Day Reincarnation AU Levi notices the newer kid, Eren Jaeger, right off the bat. Eren has isolated himself for the past 7 years due to life altering memories of his mothers death. The two had thought to have known each other, though not remembering doing so. Once Levi realizes, he soon finds out there could be much more at stake than deciding on what college to go to.
1. Jaeger's Return

**Hey guys. Okay, don't yell at me. Please. **

**This is going to be a Ereri fic.**

**If you aren't in the fandom/ship, sorry.**

**It comes from Eren and Levi from Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack On Titan.)**

**Yes I ship them.**

**Sue me.**

**You don't have to read it. I'll still be doing the Ghost Hunt fic, but this is just something new I wanted to try.**

**Let me know if it's liked?**

**(Warning: Language, maybe some gory/sad topics)**

* * *

_Uprising_

_Chapter 1: Jaeger's Return_

_Levi_

"Come on..." I mumbled to the car ahead of mine. Traffic was always horrible around this time of the day. My hand slammed down on the horn in the middle of my steering wheel. The guy in front of me stuck his hand out his window, flipping me off. My face twisted in a grimace. How rude. But then again, I probably would have done the same thing. Finally, the long line of cars moved forward. Slowly, but surely. I put my car out of park to begin driving, when someone bolted out from the trees stopped by the cross walk on the pavement in front of my car.

I stopped and signaled to the citizen to cross. The person, who happened to be a boy, wore a black letterman jacket with a leather mid-section and denim sleeves. The dark blue, denim, hood covered his head from the rain droplets drizzling from the sky. His head angled down, I was unable to see his face.

His legs were clad in blue wash jeans and he wore black Chucks. He crossed quickly. When a gust of wind blew the boys hood off of his head. He was actually... kind of attractive.

Hazelnut brown hair mopped his head. It fell in delicate waves and ended at the base of his neck. His face turned slightly in my direction as he reached back to pull his hood back up. I didn't get a very good look, but I got a flash of bright and beautiful turquoise eyes. The sight of that boys eyes caused something in me to mentally collapse. They seemed horribly familiar.

The car behind me honked. It was then I realized I was staring after the stranger. Shaking my head to get rid of the cloudy feeling in my brain, I drove on. I pulled into Trost High, unwillingly of course. I picked up my black book-bag, filled to the brim with books so thick you could knock a damn elephant out with them.

School was probably my least favorite thing about life at the moment. You put twenty to thirty tired, stressed, over-worked teenagers who are constantly nagged to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives in one stuffy and overly crowded room. They all expect you to learn the same way as the kid next to you who happens to be an auditory learner while yourself are a tactile. To top it all off, we have to deal with teachers who think they're better than you because they're older. You may be older; but you're still an asshole.

With a great sigh, I heaved my thirty pound bag on my desk in first period. That's another thing. Did they really expect us to carry ten and up pounds of shit in our bags? Gee, if I pull my back out-of-place, I'd be sure to thank these fuckers. I dropped tiredly into the chair, ready, but not really, to start another day of school.

My eyes sullenly drooped closed. Sleep didn't come easy to me. Maybe it would if it weren't for the nightmares that have haunted me for almost my entire life. They started when I was young. And ever since they haven't stopped. I'd learn to deal with running very little on sleep. Probably an hour every night. If I'm lucky, two. I've been dragged and forced to multiple therapists and doctors in the study of human sleeping patterns. No one could help me besides offering sleeping medication. They were disturbing dreams to say the least. It always started off with me screaming. Like, something that would scar me for life. Then there was blood. Normally, blood wouldn't do shit to me. But it was like I knew the blood was from someone I cared about. Then... someone's blank, dead face. I could never remember who it was or what they looked like when I woke up. It sounded stupid to be so terrified for so long of such an unimportant sounding dream, but it honestly was my biggest fear in the world. There's nothing I hate more than going to sleep because I know I'd wake up in a cold sweat and almost crying every damn time.

What the hell is wrong with me?

"Oi, Levi!" I was pushed forward from a hand coming down on my back like a friendly slap. My eyes jerked open. I looked over to see Hanji grinning stupidly.

"What?" I mumbled.

"How was your weekend?" She smiled while seating herself next to me.

"Same as always, Four Eyes." I grumbled, using my nickname for Hanji. It was a wonder she still considered me her friend. How anyone considered me their friend. I treated almost everyone like shit.

"So how much did you sleep last night?" Hanji knew basically everything about me. In a way, you could consider us best friends. She certainly did. And whether I was willing to admit it or not, I did too.

"A little more than an hour." I answered simply, a yawn hitching the end of my words.

"Boo. I wish those damn nightmares would stop." She replied. I nodded immediately.

"You and me both."

"Maybe if you got more sleep, you wouldn't be such a downer all the time. I wonder what that's like. Levi; in a good mood. It's almost too crazy to even think about." I had to agree with her on that one. Maybe I would be nicer if I actually ran on eight to ten hours of sleep. It was a nice thought. "So, did you hear about the new kid?" Hanji said suddenly.

"Nope. And I couldn't care less." Just then, someone walked in. Not just someone; no. It was him. The kid who passed my car on the cross walk this morning. Why was this damn brat so important to me? I didn't even know his name.

"Okay, everyone. We have a new student today. Why don't you introduce yourself?" Mr. Smith acknowledged the class for the first time that morning with a light and playful tone. Now that I could see the mysterious boy clearer, he really was attractive. His olive skin made his hauntingly beautiful turquoise eyes stand out even more than they already did. He was tall. Taller than me, anyways. But that wasn't surprise. A lot of people were taller than me. One of the many defaults of genetics. His hair hung loosely around his V-shaped jaw line.

"Alright. Well, I'm Eren Jaeger. Some of you may remember me. I used to live here until the end of elementary school." He shrugged. I didn't know him. Certainly, I would remember him. Sadly, I moved here mid-middle school years. All of the sudden, the chair next to me clattered as it hit the floor. Hanji had practically flown from her seat.

"Eren!" She yelled excitedly, her arm waving in the air to get the kids attention. I hid my face, embarrassed for Hanji. Luckily, Eren remembered her.

"Hey, Hanji." He smiled. I swear I heard some of the girls swoon.

"Tch..." I scoffed under my breath. "Sit down. You look fucking ridiculous."

"Hm?" Hanji asked, looking down at me as her arm stood still in the air. Quietly, I groaned.

Eventually, found a reasonable seat for the brat. The only thing I was able to pay attention to was the teenage hormones disgustingly traveling through the air. The girls looked like they were about to jump Eren. I guess I looked more pissed off than usual because Hanji kept looking at me. And so would the people in front of me. Was I giving off some visible waves of negativity or some shit?

"What the hell are you staring at?" I hissed to the boy who turned to look at me. Quickly, he returned his attention to the front board. With a huff, I leaned back into my chair. The lecture was boring. As always. And I pretty much never paid attention. I just let my eyes roam around the room. They crossed over the new kid. He was already staring at me with big and confused eyes. Anyone else in this situation would immediately look away.

But I'm not just "anyone".

So, we had a staring contest. He didn't seem to be looking anywhere else anytime soon. That was fine. I could look at his beautiful eyes all damn day. Sure, he'll think I'm weird. But, hell, who doesn't in this school? Eren's eyebrow perked up as if saying "really, we're doing this?". Mine arched up too, in a challenging manor. Why were we doing this? We haven't even said a single damn word to each other. It was broken when a sharp and bony elbow jabbed my side. I flinched and held my side. Hanji was the only one who could deliver such painful elbow jabs while barely trying.

"Damn, Hanji. What?" I whispered angrily.

"Why were you and Eren staring at each other like that?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know. He started it." I replied, crossing my arms like a child. She slapped my shoulder and returned her attention to the lesson.

* * *

Within the time span of about two hours, lunch rolled around. Without even glancing at the over sized cafeteria line, I went to sought out the usual table. I found it and sat in my usual stop next to Hanji with Jean on the other side.

"'Aye, Levi. How's it going?" Jean said, turning a little to look at me. Jean was one of the few people in the school who actually accepted that I was an asshole all the time. He could be an asshole at points too.

"Alright. Tired as hell." I mumbled while running my hands through my raven black hair. I heard him scoff in acknowledgement. I smirked. Once everyone was gathered at the table, Hanji opened her giant mouth.

"So, guys, guess who's back in Trost?" She yelled excitedly. Did they all know Eren from before? Armin set his milk down.

"Who?" He asked.

"Er-" She was cut off by Eren himself sauntering up to the table. Everyone seemed... In shock. Armin looked like he was going to have a fucking heart attack.

"E-Eren?" Armin gasped in wonder. Eren smiled.

"Armin." He only said.

"No way!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Well. Shit." Jean mumbled. I looked over at him. He had a ghost of a smile, but he didn't seem as happy as the others.

"Eren!" Connie screamed and jumped from his seat. He basically attacked Eren's shoulders. He only laughed, and he had an adorable laugh. Everything about him was adorable. It was disgusting.

"Connie, man. You haven't changed." Eren chuckled.

"You're back in Trost?" Armin asked when Eren sat down next to him. It happened to be right across from me.

"Yeah. Shiganshina wasn't working out for our family, ya know?" He said. A sadder meaning felt buried in his simple answer.

"Is Mikasa back then, too?" Jean asked. Eren's eyes, which were bright and happy, hardened.

"Of course." Eren answered, his voice showing discomfort. Jean nodded, smirking. "She has a boyfriend now."

Jean froze. "...Does she?"

Eren nodded.

The atmosphere was basically fogged with unspoken hatred. I had a feeling Jean and Eren didn't like each other before, and still don't.

"Or are you just saying that?" Jean mumbled.

"Sorry, what was that?" Eren said a little louder. I could jump in to stop the impending fight, but it was kind of entertaining.

"You heard me, asshole!" Jean yelled while leaning towards Eren across the table.

"I couldn't decipher it through all the neighing, horse face!" I couldn't help it. I broke out cackling while everyone was trying to calm them down. Hanji looked at me like I was insane. I didn't laugh much. But Eren's come back was too good to be true.

"The last time you called me horse face, I pushed you off the swings in fifth grade!" Jean shouted back.

"Yeah, and I'm sure no one has called you horse face in years. I'm just trying to pick up the slack, horse face!" Jean looked like he was about to throw a punch, so I stepped in.

"Oi! Jean, sit your horse ass down. And Jaeger? Shut the fuck up." I said. Jean looked at me, then back at Eren. Slowly while glaring at him, he sat back down.

"Oh, and you are?" Eren looked at me. It didn't sound like he was trying to be a smart ass. He just literally didn't know who I was.

"Levi." I answered simply. He nodded.

"You're in my first period class aren't you?" He said. I had a feeling we weren't going to talk about our stare down. That was alright with me. I nodded.

"Yep." He made a sound as if saying "okay". Everyone was looking at us like we were insane. Probably because we'd started having another staring contest. It was weird beyond comprehension. Eren Jaeger literally seemed so familiar to me.

"So, Eren..." Armin said next to him. We finally broke and I looked over at Hanji instead. She bored a confused expression. She was about to ask but I shook my head. "How is Mikasa? And your parents?" Eren's face dropped.

"Mikasa is fine. And my parents... My mom died a few years ago." He smiled sadly. I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"What?! Really?" Armin replied. Eren nodded while scratching the back of his neck. "Oh, man. I'm sorry, Eren. Your mom was real nice."

"Yeah. But, it was years ago. I've had my time to mourn." Something told me he wasn't telling the complete truth. Lunch went fast. A few awkward moments where Eren and I would look at each other happened. I still could not put my finger on why he seemed so damn familiar. I was almost sure I had never met him before. Shrugging it off, I headed to my third period class. None of my friends were in it. It was kind of a boring class without Hanji whispering things about her wanting me to pay attention.

I sat in my seat and stared out the window. The sky was blue and clouds were scarce. The wind blew and the trees shook. A bird flew over head. It was a raven, from what I could tell. A small smile upturned my lips. When it came to birds, I loved them. And I was envious. I'd always wondered what it would be like to fly. You know, have wings. It's been an obsession of mine ever since I can remember. I'd spend hours just looking at the sky, imagining myself dip below the clouds. It would make me feel so free. With a sigh, I knew it was idiotic to think about. We're human. Obviously, we weren't meant to have wings. It was a sad thought.

It was May, so that meant the end of the school year and the beginning of summer vacation would be here soon. It was about the only thing I looked forward to every year. I mean, there wasn't much I did during the summer. But that was the point, wasn't it? I turned to see if class was starting. I almost jumped out of my damn chair when I noticed Eren in the seat next to mine. Guess who he was staring at?

"Shit, what the hell, Jaeger? Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack?" I chastised him. He just smirked. I didn't scare him one bit. A lot of people in school are scared shitless of me because I yell a lot. And I was kind of scary at times. It wasn't my fault that my natural face always made me look like I wanted to kill someone.

"'Course not. What would I do that for?" He replied, only shaking his head and crossing his arms. I scoffed.

"You have third period here?" I mumbled.

"Yeah. This is math, right?" Eren asked. I sighed.

"No." I replied.

"What, really?" He said with alarm.

"I'm kidding. Couldn't you tell?" I said while pointing at my neutral expression. I hardly ever joked around, and when I did I always bored the same expression. None at all.

"Er, no." He mumbled.

"Good."

That class passed at snails pace. Probably because I got annoyed with Eren the whole time. He kept looking at me. He didn't know I could tell, but I could. Deciding to confront him about it after school, I waited almost impatiently. Fourth period slipped by as fast, if not slower, as third did. Probably because I had that class with Jean. He kept complaining about Eren most of the time. I found it, honestly, hilarious.

"You know, now I see why Jaeger calls you horse face. You do have the slight resemblance of one." I mumbled to him while letting my eyes skim the words of my history book. Jeans temper rose. Steam practically billowed from his nostrils and ears. "Easy, Seabiscuit." To which he groaned and rubbed his hands on his face.

* * *

Eren walked alone along the parking lot. He didn't walk fast. His feet dragged across the pavement insistently as he looked at his surroundings. Ear-buds stuck in his ears insinuated music was playing from some device in his pocket. The words of the song left his lips in periodic breaths. I had to stop and just appreciate how beautiful Eren Jaeger really was. He seemed so at peace.

"Jaeger." I whispered. I meant to yell it, to get his attention. But the sight left me almost speechless. "Jaeger!" I actually yelled this time. I tried not to sound mad, because I just wanted to talk to him.

Suddenly, he turned with a deer in the headlights look. The right ear-bud fell out and dangled lifelessly. While he stared at me incredulously, I'd been able to walk closer to him.

"What?" He asked animatedly.

"I'm going to get straight to the damn point. Why do you keep staring at me all the time? Am I just too pretty or something?" As soon as the words left my mouth I regretted them. I could have left it alone. My decisions don't really pan out the way I expect them to. It produces intensely situations and me feeling like a total dope for a while.

He seemed surprised at the question.

"I-I don't know how to answer that without getting a fist to my face." He replied honestly. I had to give him that one. He seemed to be the kind of person who thought things out before running his mouth. I shrugged.

"To think you understand me more than some people I've known for years." Which was a weird thing to say to someone who you only met during lunch, but in retrospect, I recall I punched Connie in the head for saying that my eyes were always slit because I always looked tired. Connie and I have been friends since the eighth grade.

"Um, okay." Eren replied. I probably was freaking him out a little.

"Have I met you before today?" I asked him, blunt as always. He looked at me like I just cured cancer.

"Why, do I seem familiar?" Eren asked me as if he already knew and experienced my answer.

"No, I was just curious." I remarked sarcastically.

"Because you seem familiar to me. But, since you were just curious, I guess I'd better keep it to myself." He smirked and threw his hands up. How dare he turn my sarcasm back to bite me in the ass. This kid had guts.

"Alright, enough messing around. I'll ask again; Have I met you before today?" I growled. It made no difference on Eren's expression. My efforts to frighten the new kid became futile. He just didn't care. He sighed. It made me realize that we had gotten close. So close that his breath feathered over my face. It smelled like mint gum. Our eye contact had not broken.

"No. I'm almost positive that we have not met before today. Happy?" Eren replied evenly as he took a step back like he had also just realized how close we were. It honestly made a bundle of nerves coil in my stomach. Everything about Eren Jaeger made me on edge. With that, he plugged his ear-buds back into his ears and stepped away. Eren left me standing there, wondering what the fuck was going on.

* * *

Once I walked in through the front door, I called for my parents.

"I'm home!" I yelled.

"Welcome home, Levi. How was school?" My mom poked her head out through the kitchen way, smiling as she rolled two pounds of meat in her hands. I shrugged.

"Fine." I mumbled.

"Did anything interesting happen?" After a pause. I shook my head as I entered the small but somewhat homey kitchen. My dad stood at the opposing counter, stirring a bowl of tomato sauce. It was Monday, and Monday meant meatloaf night. It was a recipe that passed through the family. Instead of a dreaded gravy sauce, it called for a sauce containing tomato, mustard, worcestershire, and brown sugar. The sour worcestershire and mustard was balanced by the sweet brown sugar. It probably sounded odd, but it tasted pretty good to be honest. The meat was rolled in breadcrumbs mixed with more tomato sauce with egg. It was, all in all, a pretty good recipe.

"Liar." My dad smirked, looking over his shoulder. I looked at him incredulously. How the fuck does he do that? "I'm a dad. I have to be able to decipher a lie from the truth."

"I just don't know how you do it." I mumbled, leaning against the counter. Mom smiled at us.

"So, what did happen?" She badgered.

"Seriously, nothing worth mentioning." I groaned.

"Is it a boy?" My mom asked. My dad instantly stopped shaking a bottle of worcestershire over the bowl and looked at me. They both looked at me, expectantly. I gulped.

"N-Not really... I mean... I don't know..." I didn't even finish my half ass sentence before my dad jumped in.

"What's his name? Tell us about him?" They seemed severely interested. I groaned, covering my burning face. I don't know shit about Eren. He could hardly be considered a "crush".

"Eren." I grumbled unhappily. "But it's nothing. Seriously. We've barely spoken. I mean, he's already friends with all of mine. He used to live in Trost until the end of elementary school when his family moved to Shiganshina." There was a pregnant silence.

"Eren Jaeger?" My dad finally spoke. It surprised me. I nodded extensively, waiting for him to explain. "His dad, Grisha Jaeger, used to be Trost's wealthiest doctor. They were a very well liked family. Eventually, Mikasa was adopted in the Jaegers. Grisha moved his family to Shiganshina and lived there until this year.

Eren's mother was brutally murdered when Eren was ten. It's was a very hush-hush type of story, but me being cop, I have access to the information.

Now, I'm not sure if this part is true, but I heard Eren's mother was killed right in front of him. In their house in Shiganshina. What happened was someone broke into the house. With Grisha being as wealthy and popular as he was, people probably targeted him all the time. Grisha wasn't home at the time, but the mother and Eren were. His mom tried to protect him with a butcher knife but they got a hold of it and stabbed his mom. I think there were around ten or so stab wounds. Eren, being only ten, didn't know what to do. But he jumped in front of his mom and tried protecting her, the poor kid. He suffered a few stab wounds himself before Grisha got home and called the police. Eren's mom was pronounced dead and Eren was in a coma for a few weeks. It was a pretty horrible time for them.

From what I heard, the Jaegers only went down from there." My mouth hung open. Was all that true?

"Shit..." I mumbled.

At least I knew the topic of family was a good topic to stay away from when talking to him.

* * *

**Aye. What's up guys?**

**So, that was the first chapter to Uprising.**

**I have a habit of naming stories and stuff after songs. This one is Uprising by Muse. I read most of the lyrics and they kind of fit well with the SNK plot. So, there's that I guess.**

**If you don't know the song, look it up. Muse is one of my favorite bands tbh.**

**Alright, so I hope this is satisfactory and long enough, so I'll get to work on the next (maybe last) part of Deadly Case.**

**Alright! Bye my lovely Intellectual Cinnamon Rolls! :^)**


	2. iHop Adventures

**(Warnings: Language, angst, triggering topics, etc.)**

_Uprising_

_Chapter 2: iHop Adventures_

_Eren_

The door hurled shut behind me as I entered the house cheap and crappy looking house. Dad no longer worked, but Mikasa and I did.

"Mikasa! I'm home!" I shouted to the empty void. There was bustling on the stairs. Mikasa came flying down them in a rush. She tackled me and covered my mouth with her hand.

"Shh. Dad passed out. Do you want him to wake up?" She threatened. My stomach twisted. I hadn't seen his car in the driveway, so I assumed he wasn't home. I shook my head and nudged her hand away.

"I didn't know he was home." I whispered. She rolled her eyes.

"Where else would he be besides the bar?" I shrugged because it was true. Dad never left to go anywhere besides the bar to drink until the bartender would force him out.

"How was school?" She asked while moving silently to the kitchenette. I followed suit.

"Alright. Armin goes there." Mikasa seemed surprised.

"Tell him we all need to hang out sometime." Armin would love that. He missed the trio. Mikasa, Armin and I would always bike to the park. Or we would go to Armin's grandfather's house to just hang out.

"And Jean is still as obsessed with you as ever." I mumbled and rolled my eyes at remembering the argument at lunch that Levi had to break up before it got too bad. Levi... He was an interesting person. An asshole, but that doesn't bother me. I've had to deal with more than my fair share of assholes in Shiganshina. Levi is an angel compared to the kids in Shiganshina. Levi kind of has that look that says he doesn't care about you unless you're a problem. From the way things are going, I might be considered a problem. But that's okay. Because no matter what Levi does, I can't bring myself to feel scared or offended. With the way he acts, people in school must not like him very much. It was kind of strange to see him in the group of people I consider friends.  
Armin didn't seem afraid of him, but Armin hardly ever gets on anyone nerves. He's, in general, a quiet kid who cares way too much about academics. But he could surprise you sometimes by creating clever plans to get out of trouble. It was why I always counted on Armin.

Something about Levi made me squirm. When he looked at me for extensive periods of time, I can literally feel my nerves bunch in an uncomfortable, but not entirely unwelcome, way. I can't help but stare back at those cold, steely gray eyes. We both knew each other, whether we could remember it or not.

"Eren?" Mikasa snapped her fingers in my face to get my attention. Once I focused in, I noticed the frown on her features.

"What?"

"I said that Jean is kind of creepy. What were you thinking about?" She asked as she balanced two plates with a single sandwich on each. She handed one to me and I took it, grateful for the first thing I've eaten today.

"Nothing." I answered instantly.

"Was it about someone-" She was cut off by the sound a door being thrown open upstairs. It hit the wall and caused the noise to ring throughout the otherwise silent house. I gulped as Mikasa and I looked at each other in alarm. There was no where to go, I couldn't leave, I couldn't run upstairs to my room. Dad, stumbling drunk, came down the stairs and looked at Mikasa and I.

"You." He pointed at me. I swallowed the fear building in my throat. "Where were you all day?" He yelled, his voice slow and disabled sounding.

"School, Dad. Remember? I started at Trost today." I answered as nice as possible. He grumbled and tripped over his feet to get closer to me. Mikasa tried to go in front of me, an act of sisterly protection she's showed all these years. I looked at her and shook my head. She was a pretty good fighter, but not against Dad's drunken wrath. All the muscle I've acquired over the years bulked my shoulders. My legs were pretty strong, too. I bike everywhere, so that's where that came from. Mikasa was nudged by my shoulder to stay behind me.

"Oh yeah." He said. He'd gotten so close to me I could smell the whiskey tainting his breath. Rage encompassed his face. "She's gone..." Oh no. Every now and then Dad would suddenly get angry because he remembered what happened to my mom. He blames me for it, of course. I wasn't sure why, though. I tried to protect her. I stood in those asshole's way. Of course, being only a kid, they cut me down like a twig. "She's gone, because of you!" He screamed, his eyes setting ablaze.

"Don't talk to him like that!" Mikasa shouted. He did this a lot, and Mikasa had always wanted to say something about it, but she was always too scared. She did now though. Dad turned towards her and rose his hand back. He was going to hit her. Without a second thought, I jumped between Mikasa and the incoming fist. He hit me right on the jaw. My head swung to the left on impact. Pain wrung down my jaw and my neck. Damn, he had a pretty good right hook. Even when drunk. Mikasa gasped.

"E-Eren..." She felt horrible.

"I'm fine. Just go to your room." I mumbled. She ran to the stairs. My dad was about to follow suit, but I caught his attention. "No, I'm right here. I'm the one you're mad at. Not her!" Dad instantly swiveled around to face me.

For the next hour, my dad kicked my sides, punched me in the face, threw me into the wall. And I took it all without so much as the lift of my hand. All the while, he called me useless, a horrible son and person, and just some plain old insults. Each insult was like another punch to the ribs. I never will understand why my perfect family had to be ruined. This isn't what things were supposed to be like. My mom was supposed to make cookies and garden with me while my dad took me to the park and baseball games. I don't even like baseball, but I wanted to go to one. Mikasa and I are still pretty close, that hasn't changed. What the hell happened to the dad I used to love?

Oh, yeah. He found the love of his life in a puddle of blood, dead.

* * *

I walked to school the next day with a slight limp. Somehow, during the altercation between me and dad last night, my ankle had been twisted. There was a bruise along my jaw, which I was pretty sure got knocked out of place. I had to push it back into place last night after I hid in my room, nursing my wounds. It hurt like a bitch and now it was sore like hell. People were certainly going to be curious. What kind of excuse could I come up with for this? I could say I fell down the stairs and hit my jaw off the railing? Not the best excuse, but it should satisfy the questions.

My hood drawn up over my head and face slanted towards the ground, I dragged my sore body into first period. I sat in the same seat as yesterday. Things were fine for the meantime, even when Levi decided on taking his seat next to me today. I didn't mind he was there in general, but it would make it harder to keep my bruised face from his line of sight.

"Oi, brat. What's up with you today?" Levi noticed. It wasn't a surprise. He's a pretty perceptive person, in all honesty.

"Nothing." I mumbled, voice slightly hoarse. I cleared my throat, trying to fix it. Levi stared at me from the side, clearly not buying my reply. As he was about to protest, Mr. Smith spoke up.

"Sorry, Eren. No hoods or hats in school. Please take it down." He reminded me in a soothing tone. I gulped and let the hood fall back off my head. Mr. Smith flinched at the sight of my bruised and battered face, but chose not to mention it.

"What the fuck is that?" Levi said, taking the chance to put his fingers under my chin to turn towards him. Levi stared at my face apprehensively. He poked the tender skin around the bruise along my jaw line. I flinched back because it sent a dull and throbbing pain all down my face. I sucked air between my teeth."What the hell happened, Jaeger?" A pinpoint of sympathy in his usually cold and uncaring voice.

"It's fine. I fell down some stairs. No big deal." I told him. The lie left a bitter taste on my tongue.

"No you didn't." He answered simply. He felt no need to elaborate. Levi sat back and didn't say a word to me the rest of class.

* * *

Lunch would be a mess. Everyone would be asking me about it. What they didn't know about, thanks to lengthy clothing, was that more bruises covered my entire body. Mostly my chest and stomach. Thank God they had no excuse to see more of my body.

I slumped down into my seat across from Levi and next to Armin.

"Eren, holy shit!" Connie gasped, pointing at my face.

"What happened? That looks painful." Jean said, surprisingly considerate compared to his normal horse face attitude.

"Eren...?" I closed my eyes while the table erupted into frantic comments. I was just waiting for it to all be over.

"I fell down the stairs at home. It's nothing." I lied.  
Levi glared at me, mad that I was lying to all my friends. I shot back the angriest look I could muster. It wasn't my fault my dad was a bitter, old, violent fucking drunk who hates me for some reason God only knows. All the attention was smothering me. In a quick movement, I stood up, knocking my chair to the ground.

"I think I need some air." I mumbled, not looking at anyone. I charged out the side doors. Anger and rage pulsed through my vanes. Not being able to keep it in, I let out an anguished cry and turned to punch the brink wall. I launched my fists at the wall multiple times before stopping from exhaustion. My knuckles were torn open and blood leaked all over my hands. I couldn't care less.

"Yeah, air and some anger management." A solid and cool voice sounded from behind me. My anger was instantly replaced with regret. Instead of helping the situation, I had only made myself look ridiculous in front of Levi and shredded my knuckles open.

"That'd be nice." I answered breathlessly. My tired and aching body slumped into the wall as I slid down into a sitting position. Levi walked over and sat down next to me. I didn't dare look at him. My hand was picked up and tugged. I looked over to see Levi analyzing my injured knuckles.

"Well, you made mincemeat of your knuckles. I should get some bandages from my car..." the last part sounded like he meant to be saying it to himself.

"No need." I grumbled. That didn't stop him from heading across the lot to his black SUV. Any other time, I would have stopped him. But I was too damn tired to fight anymore. He returned shortly with a first aid kit. Levi sat back down and offered for him to take one of my hands. Begrudgingly, I sighed and sat my bloodied hand in Levi 's.

"So, are you going to elaborate on what the hell is going on or..." Levi asked me, his sentence fading off. I kept quiet as I focused on Levi 's furrowed brow. At some point, his eyes lifted up to catch mine.

"It was um..." I was actually going to tell him? Why? I didn't know him. Not really. "My dad." I finished in a mumble. Levi 's grip on my hand tightened as he cleaned the wounds. He spared a look up at me. "I'm fine. Honestly. I'm used to it."

"Are there more bruises than the one on your face?" My silence answered for me. He sighed as he wrapped the bandage on my right hand and then offered to take my left. "Do they hurt?" Levi looks up into my eyes again. His eyes seemed so open. I had to look away. Tears welled in my eyes but I'd be damned if they spilled over. Levi huffed at my silence. My hands both now fully bandaged as we just sat out on the parking lot. "Is it because of what happened to your mom?" Instantly my silence was broken.

"How the hell do you know about that?" I yelled. The story was suppose to have been kept quiet. He shrugged as if my outburst had no effect on him.

"My dad's a cop. He told me about it when I mentioned you." My stomach launched into my throat. He mentioned me? To his family? Why did that make me feel so excited that I thought I would puke? I let out a sigh.

"Okay. So, you know." I relented. I leaned back and became suddenly interested in the newly placed bandages around my hands.

"Then it's true?" He asked. I could not deny an issue that has bothered me for so long.

"Depends on what you know." He looked at me and I looked at him.

"Well... Some crazy assholes broke into your house, stole a knife from your mom and killed her with it, and you got caught in the cross-fire. After wards, you were in a coma for a few weeks. Sound about right to you?" Levi in a matter of fact tone. I scoffed. He made it sound so simple. The experience was, of course, much different than the explanation.

"Pretty much. Except, I only got caught in the cross-fire because I jumped in between the so called assholes and my mom. I mean, I was ten. There was nothing much else I could do, you know? At first, they pushed me aside like I didn't matter. But I kept getting in the way. My mom told me to run, find help, save myself. Of course, I didn't. I felt like I had the duty of protecting her. And now that I think about it, if I had just listened to her, she might be alive today." I sighed as the reality hit me. "I understand why Dad blames me now..." I mumbled, more to myself than Levi.

"Bullshit." He told me, anger flowing in his words with intensity. "You were ten! What the hell were you going to do? Pull out a gun and let out some cheesy movie line?! Fuck, no!"

"Nothing can excuse me from the fact I could have run out the house and got the neighbor! I may have been young, but I wasn't stupid. I was, now that I realize. There's nothing anyone can say to convince me otherwise. My mom is dead, and I might as well have been the one who plunged that knife into her chest ten fucking times." Anger pulsed in my chest, wracking my whole body. How could I have been so fucking dumb?! The longer I thought about this, the more I understood why my dad hated me as much as he does.

"Eren, breathe. You're mad, I see that, but you look like you're about to fucking pass out." I knew Levi was serious when he used my first name and not my last. Maybe it would be a blessing.

"If I pass out, then so be it." I mumbled as I wrenched my fingers through my scraggly brown hair, pulling at the roots. Hands gripped my wrists and tore them from my head. Levi had take my arms and held them away from me.

"Stop. Just stop thinking, stop stressing yourself out, and stop blaming yourself. Despite what your dad tells you and what you think, none of this is your fault. Please get that through your thick ass skull, or I'll force it in there." He leaned over me, gripping my wrists tightly. His eyes intensely caught mine. Levi's hands shook slightly. Thing, long fingers wrapped around my wrists. It wasn't frightening in the least. More comforting, to be honest. I sighed and looked away.

"Sorry. I have these kind of self-worthlessness episodes some times." They happened quite often, but I had never thought that it was my fault my mom died. I thought I as brave and I helped. How stupid did that sound. With a huff, he let go of my wrists and leaned away. He flopped back into a sitting position and we didn't say anything for a while.

"You wanna go get something to eat?" He said out of no where. I looked at him dubiously.

"We're kind of in school right now, Levi." I reminded him. He shrugged.

"Skipping half the day won't kill ya'." He pointed at me. I gulped. How could he suggest to just leave when it was only my second day here? "Come on. Live a little, brat. Do something 'impulsive' for once in your damn life." Does jumping in front of two knife wielding robbers count as something impulsive? I almost said this before I caught myself. That would be an incredibly dumb thing to say. I thought about going to math and how much I really hated math.

"Fine. If we get in trouble, you forced me." I grumbled. I caught the victorious smirk on his face.

"Whatever." He tried to hide the smirk, as he was unable to do so. What I said next flew out of my mouth without my permission.

"You should smile more often...It looks good." I said lamely. My eyes widened at what I had allowed him to actually hear. See, this is why I have next to no friends. He looked at me and rose his eyebrow in question.

"Really?" He asked, surprised.

"Well, I mean, um... It's just you're so serious all the time and you're never in a good mood and well you have nice teeth..." I caught myself rambling in a sorry excuse of an attempt at digging myself out of the whole I dug myself into. Levi's lip twitched like he was going to smile again.

"Shut up, idiot." He told me, but not in a mean way. Like an adoring way. I sighed. When was I going to learn that the things in my head do not sound as good as they do out loud? "Let's go."

* * *

We'd chosen to go to iHop. I'd never been there, but Levi said their pancakes were amazing. I swear to God my blood pressure skyrocketed just looking at all the different style of pancakes. When I told him I had no money to pay, he looked at me like "are you fucking kidding me like that actually just came out of your mouth". He assured me that he would pay and it wouldn't be a problem. That didn't stop the guilt gnawing at my stomach. We talked about him while we waited for the food. He ordered a stack of banana and cinnamon pancakes, claiming they were his favorite. I had ordered a somewhat smaller part of what he got- two pancakes instead of five, if Levi could even eat that many -and they were regular with strawberry sauce instead of maple syrup. My mouth had practically watered at the sight of them. The only thing I had to eat was like two bites of a sandwich Mikasa had prepared for me the night before. I realized that I was just staring at the beautiful sight of steaming hot pancakes topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream.

"Well, you gonna eat them or put them up for display?" Levi asked, taking a bite off his fork. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. It'd been so long since I had a proper meal, or had even gone out to eat at an actual restaurant.

"Uh, yeah." I mumbled before cutting off a piece, dragging it along the strawberry sauce and whipped cream along the plate. I stared at it for a second before plopping it into my mouth. Who knew a simply delicious pancake could cause a small moan of pleasure. My cheeks heated up even more as I remembered Levi sat right across from me. I looked at him with a mortified look. The amusement on his face was debatable to be something else. I wasn't sure what. A snorting laugh came from him. Levi. He _snorted_ a _laugh_.

"Haven't had pancakes in a while?" He guessed with a playful grin.

"More like I haven't had real food in a while..." I mumbled with disdain. It was so low I didn't think Levi would catch it. Apparently, he did. The grin disappeared and was replaced by a stern look. He didn't reply and it made my incredible mood crash and burn. Can I not learn to keep shit like that to myself? How can I be so clueless?

"...Sorry." I instantly felt the need to apologize.

"You say that a lot.' Levi stated while eating more of his pancakes.

"What?" I looked at him, confused.

"'Sorry'. You don't have to apologize all the time. Mostly because don't do anything worth apologizing for." I glanced down at my food and almost, _almost, _apologized again.

"Sometimes I don't know what else to say." I shrugged as I ate more of my pancakes.

"Maybe you don't have to say anything at all sometimes." And with that, it was like silence was clear. We didn't talk for the rest of the meal, just ate and looked at each other. We stared at each other for about eighty percent of the time without it being weird or awkward.

* * *

"Coldplay is way better than Maroon 5. End of story, you shitty brat." Levi replied. We'd literally just been sitting in his car, listening to his vast music selection. After eating, it had only been around two o'clock. Without a word, Levi drove us to the seaside. He parked in a parking section that over looked the ocean, which certainly beautiful sight. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"Absolutely not. I have two words for you." I said. He rose his eyebrows as an invitation to continue. I held up one finger. "Adam," then the second. "Levine. And that's my only argument besides his voice is like the production of five angels harmonizing." I didn't know if he had gotten the insinuation that I meant I found Adam Levine attractive or not. He threw his hands up in frustration.

"You know, there _are _more people in Maroon 5 besides Adam Levine? People seem to forget that. And Adam Levine isn't the only attractive guy in that band." He rolled his eyes much more intensely than I had. Woah. That took me through a tail spin.

"I'm just saying. Adam Levine? He can call me on a payphone anytime." I said before thinking, again. I held my breath and waited for a his reaction. He chuckled.

"Right." He nodded. Nothing questioning my sexuality. Na-da. I decided not to bother him with the same obvious question. But if I didn't say something, I might have exploded. After not speaking for a few minutes with Speed Of Sound softly filtering through the speakers. Levi had admitted that Coldplay was one of his favorite bands.

"So, you aren't going to ask?" I finally worked the courage. He looked at me suddenly.

"About...? Don't be so damn cryptic." He let out a small, breathy laugh. I gave him a doubtful look.

"I kind of just gave you all the information you needed to guess that I like guys. So, why not ask? Usually, everyone wants to know." My expression never faltered. It never really bothered me when they asked, I mean they were just curious, right? Sometimes, people just needed to be calmly educated, not bitched at for ignorance.

"Because I know I get annoyed when people ask me, so I don't usually ask others." He shrugged indifferently. Now, let me get this straight-no pun intended-Levi, and extremely attractive, and nice, comfortable guy was interested in guys. And so was I. However was this going to end up? Oh, yes. I know. Me with such a horrible crush that it would only add to the shit on my plate. I can try to not let that happen. Yeah, how hard would it be? The clock said 2:30 and I realized that I should be heading home.

"Hey, Levi? It's almost three. My dad will want me home around there." I told him, trying not to sound as scared as I felt. The look he shot me from the side told me he wasn't okay with me going home. But, without arguing, Levi shifted into drive.

"Seat belt, brat." He said, his own comforting way of saying if we were to get into a crash, he wouldn't want me to go through the windshield. I pulled the seat belt, but it was jammed or locked. Levi noticed my struggle. "Holy Hell. Do I have to do everything for you?"He mumbled before unlocking his own seat belt. He leant over me, his face extremely close to mine as he fumbled with the difficult seat belt. He smelled like vanilla and cinnamon. His breath smelled like the sweet and sugary pancakes we had eaten. I tried to keep the blush under control as the more he fiddled with the seat belt, the closer to me he seemed to get. My heart beat painfully fast in my chest. Levi fixed it and pulled it across my chest for me. He moved the side of my shirt, touching a, small yet bare, part of my side. When his hand had met my bare skin, prickles of nervousness bubbled all around my skin. The seat belt clicked, allowing Levi to stop touching me and to let me actually breathe.

Well. So much for not gaining a crush.

Shit.

* * *

**Ayyyyee what's up? **

**The second chapter of Uprising, that's what.**

**Haha I'm so funny.**

**I reaaallly liked writing the iHop scene. It's so cute lmao.**

**Adam Levine is very attractive.**

**What's wrong with me.**

**Bye my Intellectual Cinnamon Rolls! :^)**


	3. Odd Dreams

_Uprising _

_Chapter 3: Odd Dreams_

_Levi_

That night, I was more apprehensive about going to sleep than ever. Even though I knew exactly what would be waiting for me behind my eyelids, it still frightened me. Sleep wanted to pull me under so much, but I wanted nothing more than to spit in its ugly face in defiance. Around two AM, sleep had finally grappled me down. The dream that I was so used to having was replaced. It wasn't the same; oh no, it was worse.

_A body got thrown like a rag doll across a city. The body hit a roof, sending broken shingles flying all over. I flew through the air after the body, screaming something incoherent. The body laid motionless. I said something, but any sound was muffled, as though we were under water. I was real scared. Blood pooled on the roof and ran over the ledge. The body, who I noticed was a boy, was missing half of his legs. Everything from the knees down was gone, replaced with ripped, shredded, and bloody, muscle, tissue and bone. His head bled profusely. I was mumbling something as I reached for the body. Once turned over, the pale face of the last person I expected to be there greeted me. I let out an ear rupturing scream._

"Eren!" I bolted awake, screaming. Sweat covered my body as tears streamlined down my cheeks. What the fuck was that?! I always had the same dream; ever since I was little. Then all of the sudden, a completely different one? What the hell? And Eren was in it? Surprisingly, I had been asleep for nearly three hours. That made me a little happier. I threw back the covers on my bed and ventured to take a shower. While in said shower, Eren's blank, dead, and bloodied head resurfaced. Why did it have to be Eren? The stupid brat... Something about him made me want to get close. And that never really worked out well. People would start to get close, and I would let them. Except, when they found out about my reoccurring nightmares and my occasional narcissistic tendencies, they were withdrawn in a heartbeat. You know the saying "no one is worth changing for"? I highly doubted there was a single person on this Earth who would accept me as I am. I'm a sarcastic asshole no one has time for. And if people were alright without me, than I sure as hell was even better without them. I almost choked on my own lie. I act like I'm okay with being alone, but really, I can't fathom the thought for the rest of my life. Who wants to be alone forever?

After my shower, I did the usual morning things before 7:20 when I left to go to my own personal hell, Trost High.

* * *

Eren and I talked for a lot of the day, which I was happy for. He didn't seem to be in the best of moods, but he kept it at bay from anyone noticing. I could notice, even though he tried so hard for me not to. It honestly saddened me that Eren had to try so damn hard for anyone to see how upset he clearly was. Even so, I could read Eren Jaeger like a fucking book. With things going like this, he'd never be able to lie to me. Countless times during the day I would ask if he was okay. He would smile brightly and nod, saying he had no idea what I meant. Except, his body betrayed his words. In the short time of knowing Eren, I learned that when he lied, his ears turned a vibrant shade of red.

He talked with our friends at the lunch table. Anytime someone tried bringing up the bruise on his face or when he dramatically left lunch yesterday to beat down a wall, he would brush them off. They would then turn to me, but of course, I would say nothing. If Eren didn't want them to know, I respected that. Hanji gave me a knowing look anytime I looked at her. Which meant, her signature shit-eating grin and squinted eyes that penetrated even the darkest of souls. After lunch, I pulled her aside.

"Why the hell do you keep giving me that look? It gives me the creeps and it makes me want to, like, kill you." I said the last bit with venom, but she never took me seriously. I wasn't sure why, because one day she might drive me crazy enough to actually act on it. Maybe it was my height, considering I wasn't the tallest guy around.

"Oh, it's nothing." She tried waving me off.

"No, it's definitely something. Spit it out, four eyes." She played with the end of her reddish-brown ponytail before considering her next words.

"All I have to say is: Eren. " She smiled her sly grin. I cocked my head to the side. What did she mean by that?

"So, it has to do with Eren? Okay? That's not exactly enough of an explanation for me." She shook her head, trying to think of how to describe it better.

"Do you like him?" She bravely asked. I almost choked on my damn throat. I spluttered a slight cough at how sudden the direction of this had turned.

"Never mind. Now I _really_ don't want to know." I shook my head and tried walking out of Hanji's death trap. She gripped my arm like iron.

"Don't avoid me. You wanted to know what I was thinking about, so now you know." She replied. I groaned and tried once more to get away.

"I don't know!" I finally answered. She let me go and I turned to see her eyebrow arched. "Give me some damn credit here! It's only been like three fucking days!" Even though as time progressed, it was starting to lean towards more of a "yes" instead of "indecisive". Hanji nodded and sighed.

"I can understand that. It's just... For some reason, even though you guys haven't known each other for long, it feels right." Now she confused me even more. "What I mean, is you two together. It feels _right_. I can't really put it into a good elaboration, but if you two were going to get together, I'd be really happy. I'm not sure why. It feels like you two were meant for each other." She shrugged, the explanation not really going anywhere. I could understand what she meant though. In all honesty, it felt like I'd known Eren my whole life. It was weird. But not unwelcome. Hanji invited me to walk with her to our next period. Instead of talking about a certain boy with oak brown hair and blue-green eyes, we talked about my new dream. Which, I guess, wasn't that different from talking about Eren. Slowly, my life was turning into the "All Things Eren Show" and I couldn't say I minded.

* * *

The rest of the week went by at and unnaturally slow pace. I swear time itself had been doused in quicksand. Normally, I would have been in a worse mood than usual, but Eren kept me stable. I realized that I honestly enjoyed being around the brat. On Wednesday night we decided to trade Skype usernames and phone numbers. Now being Saturday, every day since we would spend around two hours talking on Skype. We would help each other with homework and just talk. I would even crack a few jokes, even though I wasn't sure Eren found them funny about 95% of the time. Then after we got off, we would wait for about twenty minutes and then text each other until one of us went to sleep. Of course, it was usually Eren who slept first. He was really starting to grow on me.

It was Saturday morning that I decided to actually do something. What to do? After thinking, I realized that I really needed some new clothes. Maybe I could go to the local mall. Not wanting to go alone, I searched my phone contacts. A few looked promising, like Hanji or Jean, but Hanji would have forced me into clothes she liked more than I did and Jean didn't like shopping. Eren's name rolled past my eyes and I stopped. Would he...? I sighed. Wouldn't know unless I tried. I pressed the call button and listened to the continuous rings. Eventually, a voice answered.

"Hello?" Eren's voice was sultry and groggy with sleep. A small smile reached my lips. How retchingly adorable.

"Look alive, Sunshine." I greeted.

"Levi? What's up? What time is it?" He questioned, sounding incredibly confused. The clock in my peripherals told me.

"Hmm, around noon. Damn kid, get your lazy ass out of bed." Eren scoffed on the other line.

"Noon isn't late for me."

"I'd bet not. Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to do something today. Like, go to the mall?" I asked, hoping he would say yes.

"...What's the catch?" He sighed.

"Well all you gotta do is keep me company, and of course give me your opinion on what clothes to buy and if I look good in them." He was silent on the other line for a few seconds.

"Fine. Give me like and hour to shower and whatnot." A full blown smile became my face.

"I'll be at your house at exactly 1 o'clock. Not a minute late." I told him.

"Ugh, fine." He hung up and so did I. My stomach started to do something weird... like... it was restless. In knots. Is this what it felt like to be nervous to the point where you feel it all over?

I was _not_ used to this.

* * *

I threw on a grey V-neck with a black breast pocket and a pair of black skinny jeans. I stepped out of the dressing room to unveil what it looked like to Eren. We'd been shopping for a few minutes and I had already decided on a pair of jeans and two shirts. When I stepped out, Eren turned his attention from a rack of shirts to me. The stupid blue-green eyes I found so endearing looked at me up and down.

"I-I like it." I sighed at how repetitive he could be.

"You said the same thing about the last two things I tried on."

Eren shrugged. "Well, I don't usually do this sort of thing. What do you want me to say? That I think..." He shook his head. "Never mind."

"No, what?" I walked closer to him to try to reason. His eyes followed me everywhere. As soon as eye contact was made, he tore his gaze away and focused on the shirt next to him on a rack. He completely ignored me. "Shit, you're impossible." I groaned.

"Look who's talking." He smirked and I had the urge to either slap or kiss it right off his pretty little face.

"No comment."

_Eren_

Levi trudged his jean clad legs back into the dressing room. With a sigh of relief, I collapsed onto the couch across from the mirrored walls. That was close. That was terrifying. I'd almost let how I really thought Levi really looked slip. If I did tell him, it would have been awkward and he would have thought I was weird. The truth was, I thought he looked better than I originally made him think. The jeans hugged his figure perfectly, showing off his muscular hips. The shirt was a tad too big as it hung loosely around his midsection but because it was Levi, he made it look good. Levi could make a black trash bag look Gucci. And you probably think I'm kidding.

Levi looked like he could be a model if it wasn't for his short stature. His black hair strung in straight pieces of raven black strands, parted perfectly in the middle. How it naturally dried so straight and perfect was beyond me. Steely, gray eyes fit his personality to the bare minimum. Levi was cold sometimes, which matched his cruel eyes well. They gave off the aura that he couldn't care less about anything, but they still captivated my attention more than anything. Levi's cheekbones protruded rather nicely and matched his chiseled jaw line.

In all honesty, he wasn't that short. Only about half a head shorter than me. It wasn't a turn off though. If anything, it made Levi more desirable.

Speak of the devil...

Levi came out of the dressing room in the same jeans that drove me up the wall, but changed into a simple, long sleeved red shirt

"Alright, so this one," He pointed to the shirt on his body, "or this one?" He held up the same shirt, but light blue instead. I thought for a minute. He really did look great in lighter colors, but he preferred darker ones.

"The blue one." He rose his eyebrow.

"Why?" Levi asked in slight confusion. This time, I told him exactly what I thought.

"I like lighter colors on you. Normally, you wear almost nothing but black. It's nice seeing seeing actual colors on you..." My words died off out of nervousness. He wanted me to be more specific, so he got it. Levi bit his lower lip while seeming to contemplate what I had said.

"Hmm..." He mumbled before turning on his heel to the dressing room.

My first instinct was that I'd fucked up. That he had gotten annoyed with me. So annoyed, he didn't even dignify me with a real response. As I felt the need to slither into a corner and bury myself in regret. Levi came back out in his own clothes and didn't utter a single word. I followed him on shaking legs to the cash register when I caught the sight of something within the pile of clothes on his arm. The blue shirt.

Was he buying it?

"Wait, are you buying that shirt?" I asked incredulously. He shrugged as he handed over a flimsy debit card.

"Well, yeah. If you say I look good in brighter clothes, then I trust your judgement." A smile stretched across my smitten face. Levi could really be a nice person sometimes. "What are you smiling like that for? It's kind of creepy." He grumbled. Keyword; _sometimes_.

We were done shopping after that but decided to get something to eat at the food court. Levi munched on a salad while I picked at my sandwich. I had actually denied wanting anything, but he insisted.

"Stop eating like a damn chipmunk and take actual bites." He commented around a bite of crisp, iceberg lettuce. I glared slightly at him.

"Maybe if someone listened to me when I said I was not hungry..." I mumbled saltily.

"Okay but sometime soon someone should realize that their ears turn red when lying." My hands went straight to my ears. He noticed? My mom teased me about it all the time when I was younger... In a way, it made me happy he noticed.

"My mom was the only one who noticed. She used to pinch my ears all the time when I lied and teased me about it. Your the first, besides her, to know." I smirked. He looked at me with a fork frozen in his mouth.

"That's weird, I mean it's pretty obvious." Levi murmured as he kept eating.

"Well... I don't know... No one pays better attention than you do." I shrugged and tried to ignore the sad look he gave me.

"Is that Eren Jaeger?" I heard someone say a few feet behind me. My eyebrow furrowed. Who was that?

"Is it? It looks like him. Wow, how weird. I would have thought he'd be at home, alone." Someone replied. I turned to look at two guys. I recognized them instantly. Ryner and Bertholdt. They were asshole, popular guys who went to the highschool in Shiganshina. They always were up my ass about everything.

"Hey, Eren Jaeger? Is that really you?" Ryner called. I ignored him. Levi looked back between the two of us.

"You know them?" He asked subtly.

"No." I replied instantaneously.

"'Aye buddy. Where have you been?" Bertholdt said when they both walked up to the table. I reached for my drink to take a sip instead of biting my cheek in fear. Ryner intersected me and stole the drink right away. Great, they were going to mess with me while Levi was around. Maybe he'll finally realize what a loser I really am. Levi stared at them. He looked... mad?

"I don't believe that's _your_ drink." He bit. Ryner looked at him like he'd just noticed him.

"And who are you? Why are you hanging out with this scrub?" Ryner asked as he shoved my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and rubbed my now probably bruised shoulder.

"Doesn't matter. But, like I said, I don't think that's your fucking drink." Levi spit. Bertholdt rose his eyebrow. Ryner smiled wickedly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. You're right. Let me just give it back to him." Before I even realized what was happening, Ryner tore the lid off my mostly full drink. Bertholdt took it from the blond and turned it upside down right above my head, sending cold ice and Sierra Mist all over me. I gasped and stood quickly, knocking my chair over. People were staring, wondering if someone should step into the impending fight.

Ryner and his friend starting laughing. Levi had dropped his fork on the floor in shock. His face displayed a large amount of surprise. The two started walking away, after throwing the empty cup at my face.

"Faggot!" Ryner shouted. Ouch, that stung a little. Levi's face had contorted to something of rage. In a flash, he stood. He went to chase after them. Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his hand, holding him in place.

"Stop. It's not worth it." He looked back at me, anger burning deep in his features.

"You can't let them get away with that!" He begged.

"Hey, I don't really care. They've done worse. I'll just shower when I get home." I smirked as I picked a piece of brown hair stuck to my forehead. Reluctantly, he turned and picked up our trays, threw out the leftover food, and suggested leaving. I complied, really needing a shower. My clothes and hair were starting to get sticky. Levi blasted Three Days Grace on the way back to my house, not making a single sound. As he pulled up to my house, I noticed my dad's car wasn't here. At the bar, probably.

"Hey, um, do you want to come inside? My dad isn't home." I asked skeptically as I climbed out of his car. After a few seconds, he nodded. I could have sighed in relief, if I wasn't trying to keep my cool.

* * *

_Levi_

"Mikasa!" Eren yelled. My eyes searched the house of the Jaegers. It was small and simple. The brown walls matched the chocolate carpeting. There was a gray couch offf in the center of the walk in living room with an old tv in front of it. A large hole dented the wall next to a mini kitchenette. It looked to be the size of a body. Eren noticed my facination. "It was here when we moved in..." Eren tried to deflect my attention from his burning ears. I decided to ask about it later.

A girl with short black hair bounded down the stair. A red scarf tied round her neck covered part of her chin. Her eyes were gray, much like mine, and held little emotion. Mikasa, I assumed.

"Dad's not home..." She trailed off as her sights landed on me. "Who's this?" Eren rolled his eyes.

"Don't sound so defensive, Mikasa. This is Levi. He's a friend." Mikasa slowly and unsurly put her hand out. She wanted to shake hands? She eyed me up and down with critisism. After brief hesitation, I stuck my hand in hers and pumped it up and down.

"You're pretty short. Are you like a legal midget?" She suggested with the arch of her brow.

"Mikasa, that's rude!" He seemed more offended by it than I did.

"It's okay, Eren. I know I'm short." Eren looked at me and then to the floor.

"Eren why do you look like you've just been dunked in a vat of honey?" She stuck her hand in his hair and grimaced.

"It's nothing. I'm just clumsy." Eren's lie rang in my ears and suddenly I was furious again. Those assholes...

What kind of problem could they have had with Eren? I'd bet my life savings that Eren didn't do anything to them. Why are people so fucked up?

"Seriously?" Mikasa said with a sigh. She almost accepted the lie. Eren nodded. "Well, go take a shower."

I couldn't believe it. She had no idea he was lying. It was so obvious I could puke. He wasn't kidding when he said I pay him better attention.

This kid didn't deserve this kind of lifestyle.

Eren directed me to his bedroom while he got into the shower. His room was almost empty, excluding a bed, bedside table, and a dresser presumably full of clothes. As I plumped down onto his bed, I noticed how unsightingly old it was. It squeaked pretty horribly and rusty springs poked out of the side. I winced at the feeling of the springs sticking the back of my legs. How did Eren deal with this?

After about a half hour, the shower turned off and Eren stepping into his room, wearing nothing but a towel around his beautiful hips. If it weren't for the ugly bruises littering his perfectly toned, olive skin, I would have drooled on the floorboards. He looked at me over his shoulder while he sifted through the drawers for something to wear. He smirked.

"You're staring." Eren stated, a smile in his voice. I scoffed and turned my surprisingly warm face.

"You just have a lot of bruises..." I replied, trying to keep my voice even.

"Yeah, well I mean there's nothing I can really do about it." He shrugged indifferently, as if it was nothing. My eyes turned to slits. It wasn't _nothing. _How could he treat it that way?

"Why are you so fucking careless?" I spat, standing to meet him. I hated getting mad at Eren, but maybe it would help him realize he didn't deserve how people treat him. Again, he lifted and dropped his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" He asked, not sounding any different. Eren threw on a grey tee-shirt . As he turned to look at me in confusion, he tousled his dripping wet hair. Oh god, why did he have to be so cute?

"Everyone treats you like a doormat! Why not give them hell for it?" He looked at me and turned his attention to the floor.

"I don't think it's worth spending my years, searching for revenge on someone who won't mean shit to me in like ten years. I probably won't even remember Ryner and Bertholdt. My teenage years will just seem like a bad dream." I didn't realize how mature Eren was. I was silent, fuming.

"Do you even care about anything?" I grumbled. Eren was about to say something, but corrected himself with a distant look.

"Not really. What is there to care about?" It was as if Eren had transformed into a damn robot right before my eyes. His eyes glazed over and he held absolutely no emotion. It scared me, but I said nothing more as I left him to change.

* * *

_Eren_

Levi was being more difficult than ever. He kept going on about "revenge" or something when I legitimately had no interest in it. Why couldn't he understand? The old me would have beat the shit out of those guys at the mall, but now... Things were different. So different. My emotions are more isolated now. I hardly ever let how I really felt affect me or the people around me. It's been held back since I was ten. One day, it will break like a dam. At first, slowly, it will start leaking. Then, all at once, it would collapse and drown everyone around me. They won't see it coming in time to move. They won't see it happening until it's too late. I sighed and dressed while Levi waited in the living room.

He sat on the couch, running his hand through his hair. I came and sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry. I can be really blunt and Mikasa says it's offensive." I scratched the back of my neck out of habit.

"It's not so much offensive as it is frightening. You don't care, and it's just confusing. If I was in your place, everyone would have to mop their guts off the floor." He groaned and leaned back into the couch. He slung his arm across the back and I had the overwhelming urge to lean into him.

"You know, at some point, I think we were almost the same person." Instead of leaning into him, I decided to lay back like Levi. I was very aware of his arm behind my neck. "I was always angry and impulsive. If I was the same as before, Ryner and Bertholdt would have been knocked out on the food court table. Sure, no one pushed me around, but I also had at least one friend, mind you. It was a problem." Levi hung onto every word without missing a beat.

"I can't imagine that." He replied and I couldn't help but chuckle at how wrong he was.

We decided upon watching my favorite movie, The Lord Of The Rings. At some point, my mind became hazy and before I knew it, sleep had claimed me.

* * *

_Levi_

My attention was diverted from the screen to and extra weight on my shoulder. A sleeping head drooped onto me. Eren seemed so at peace. He lacked the tension that usually strung his body. He breathed in and out deeply as his chest rose and fell in periodic intervals. Lifting my hand to his head, his hair tickled my skin. The dark chestnut-brown hair was damp but still deeply soft. Like feathers I wanted to bury myself in. It smelled like shampoo. Up to this point, I'd wondered whether his hair was as soft as it looked. Wow, I hadn't realize how creepy this probably was.

I found myself playing with the tips in between my fingers. The brat started moving, so I stopped as well as my heart. He didn't wake up; no, he moved closer to me. A sigh of content left his kissable lips. This felt strange, not bad but... like I'd done it before. De ja vu? The act itself was beyond comfortable. I could probably sleep some myself. But, this was out of the equation. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.

_I sat against a wall on a roof, stargazing. There was a stern knock and I turned my upper half to see who it was. It was Eren._

_"Corporal Levi?" He asked. Eren was dressed oddly. A white shirt under a beige jacket that ended just below his rib cage. Off white pants with a brown wrap around his waist, like a belt, and knee high black combat boots that had straps going up his thighs. A dark green cape-like article was tied around his neck._

_"What is it, Eren?" I asked him. "And I told you to drop the Corporal." Eren moved from the doorway and gave an appologetic smile._

_"Sorry. I keep forgetting. Can I sit with you, Corp- Levi." He almost slipped up. I waved him over. He sat next to me, our knees touching. Unabashedly, he dropped his head onto my shoulder and leaned close to me. With affection, I slipped my arm around his broad shoulders. "I see why you like the stars so much. They really are something." I smirked._

_"Yeah. Did Erwin give you a hard time today?"_

_"Kind of. He says I have no idea how to clean a horse stall. Although, he made Jean re-do it. It's good he knows how to clean up after himself." Playfully, I smacked his shoulder and chuckled._

_"How many times do I have to tell you? Jean doesn't look like a horse." He sat up to look at me incredulously._

_"You have to admit he does a little bit!" I rolled my eyes._

_"You just say that because you don't like him."Eren groaned and laid his head back down._

_"He's an asshole..." He grumbled. In silence, we both fell fast asleep under the stars._


	4. Corporal Rivaille

**_(ok so I wrote a lot to this chapter on the first try and i liked it a lot but it got deleted so i got mad, rage slammed my computer down, and then i kind of just looked at this document in disgust and hatred so im sorry if this took too long to update)_**

**_(Also a lot of this is going to be Levi's POV so im sorry if thats a problem)_**

_Uprising_

_Chapter 4: Corporal Rivaille_

_Eren_

How was it this possible to feel so comfortable? Slowly, my body was waking up from the long slumber that had suddenly taken me. What happened when I fell asleep? I was with someone, wasn't I? All at once, the memory came back. Levi. I had been with Levi. I sat up to enhance my surroundings. Instantly, I found myself unable to move my left arm. Tugging at my arm a bit, it was under Levi's hip. To make my situation even worse, my legs and his were tangled up on the other end. We'd literally been cuddling the whole time. How does something like that even happen? Though I liked the thought of cuddling with Levi, I don't think I can deal with the embarrassment of him waking up to this.

So, trying to solve the situation, I tried pulling my arm out from underneath him. I sighed with relief when I had my arm back without even stirring Levi. And now, my legs needed tending to. I pulled my legs to no avail.

"Eren, what are you doing?" Levi voiced behind me, sounding groggy. I looked back at him and laughed nervously. His hand was rubbing through his raven hair. Soon, he realized our legs were knotted together and his eyes went wide. We both instantly pulled our legs towards our bodies with flaming cheeks. He cleared his throat and spoke after some silence had passed. "What time is it?"

I glanced at my watch. "Five." He nodded and stood from the couch to stretch his back out. I noticed his attention became taken by the dent in the wall. Levi was going to ask about it. I wish he'd leave it be.

"So, what actually happened to that wall? And no bullshit because I can smell it a mile away." He stood in front of me with his arms crossed threateningly.

I sighed, knowing this one, I wouldn't be able to get out of . "My dad came home, drunk as ever. He , well, threw me into the wall. No big deal." I shrugged. "Hungry?"

"What the hell? He _threw_ you?" Levi asked, throwing his arms out behind him.

"Yeah, I just said that. And I asked if you were hungry because I am." I yawned and hoped to direct the conversation somewhere else. I stood and turned to go to the kitchen, even though I was 95% percent sure we didn't have much to eat. I heard Levi mumble something like "god damn it" before he grabbed my hand. I looked back to see what he wanted. Before I knew it, his hand cupped my face and brought it forward. Levi's lips met mine in the middle and connected. Levi was kissing me. After a few seconds, I started to kiss back. On its own accord, my arm wrapped around his waist to bring him closer. I felt his lips smile against mine. It wasn't messy or sloppy. It was a real kiss. My first, real kiss. He pulled back and our eyes met. Mine moved confusedly and his were radiating happiness.

Suddenly, my body began to ache. Memories of my mother's death flashed in my head as well as the times my father had treated me like shit. I hadn't really thought of it before. Emotions hit me like a train and I needed it to stop. My knees weakened as the memories overwhelmed my senses. Levi grunted as I started to go limp and he sidled me back onto the couch. He lowered himself onto the side.

"What's wrong? Eren?" I pulled my knees up to my chest after turning onto my side. It hurt my muscles but I didn't care. My eyes stung with unshed tears and now? Crying was the only thing I wanted to do. "Eren...?" The look on my mom's face when she landed in a puddle of blood on the floor flashed before my eyes and I couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears broke free from my eyes and once they started it just wouldn't stop. My chest expanded in spasms and at some point, I accidentally let out a small sob. Did this really have to happen while Levi was over? Really? I felt hands squeeze under my arms, trying to get in. "Eren, don't shut me out..." Levi said with worry in his voice. It made me peek at him. I'd never heard him sound so concerned. His face matched his tone. For a small amount of time, I was able to stop crying and sit up like I was okay, only to break down again. I buried my face in my hands and began trying to stifle my sobs. Levi moved closer and wrapped his arms around me. This was not how I wanted to be. I didn't want to be "broken" and "weak". I wanted to not be able to feel my obvious injuries and emotional trauma. Numb. Like before. Levi bulldozed the wall against emotion I spent building since I was 10 and I wanted it back. This wan't the way I wanted to live; feeling like absolute shit every day. No one should live like this. No one deserves to. I tried to pull away from Levi. He shouldn't have to deal with me at this point. It only made him tighten his arms.

"I'm sorry..." I mumbled through my crying that muffled against his shoulder. Levi hushed me.

"It's completely fine. When you're ready, tell me what the matter." So, I cried and cried for at least a half hour. Finally, all my tears had dried and left me with a stiff face, blurry vision, and a hoarse voice. But I felt somewhat better to say the least. Finally I pulled away and curled into the corner. My cheeks burned, remembering Levi held me while I bawled like a baby. I'm such a loser.

"Levi, I'm so-"

"Stop. I don't care that you're sorry because I'm not. What suddenly brought that on?" He turned towards me and crossed his legs. I sighed and tried to explain as well as I could, very well knowing it might not make any sense at all.

"After I woke up from the coma when I was ten, I didn't cry about losing my mom. I barely showed any reaction at all. As a self protection maneuver, apparently, I locked away my emotions and tried not to feel a thing. Of course, eventually it got harder when my dad lost his job, started to emotionally and physically abuse me, and the kids at school treated me like shit. Because we lost money all too fast, I stopped seeing my therapist and we moved back here. When I met you, my emotions slowly started coming back. And now..." That's all I could really say before looking away.

"No one deserves that." Levi mumbled and rubbed his hands over his face.

"No, no one really does."

* * *

_Levi_

I woke up mildly confused with everything. The dream I had between Eren and I wasn't a dream. I knew that. I remember it. Like a memory. It was a memory. Every dream I'd ever had, had been a memory from my other life. My life where humanity lived in fear of extinction and I was a strong corporal. _"Humanities Strongest", _if you will. Titans ruled over us as we cowered behind walls. Eren and I had become more than team mates back then and some how I'd been able to find him again. It truly was a gift all on its own. All our friends... they were there too. Jean, Armin, Hanji. Everyone.

I had my friends and my parents. I didn't have to worry about getting eaten by titans in this life. That's what made me sincerely so relieved. But what threw me through a loop was that Eren continues to get the short end of the stick. Has he ever gotten a good life? Ever? He'd had to see his mother die in both lives. Is this brat just doomed to witness a mind altering action like that for all eternity? Don't even get me started on his dad. Was that guy going to be a shit father in every life or what? It made me angry and worked up just thinking about it.

Right now, I was a seventeen year old kid in high school. Instead of having to worry about if my 3-D maneuver gear worked properly, it was grades. Friends instead of specially trained teammates to fight multiple meter tall, cannibalistic titans. What college I was going to and not if I was going to live long enough to see the next day. My other life seemed more like a bad dream, thought I knew it was very much real.

Onto a new problem I faced, was Eren. I had the horrible idea to _kiss_ him. I was honestly just so overwhelmed with remembering, my first instinct was to make sure it was really _my _Eren. He felt like my Eren. Despite the fact he kissed back, he'd also been met with a complete mental breakdown. And it was mostly my fault. Good going, Levi. Why did he have to be cursed with witnessing his mothers death and a shit father? It made no sense to me. Kissing him was a stupid move on my part. Honestly, I hoped he'd forget about it and not bring it up. If he asked why I kissed him, I wouldn't have a simple answer to give him. There was no "simple" answer. I just needed to taste him again, _feel _his lips on mine one more time. It was a selfish move I didn't intend to make again. I knew at some point, one of us would bring it up. And whatever his reaction would be, that would be the consequence I would have to take. However direction he wanted this to go, I would let him steer. If he wanted to be just friends, then we were. Sure, it would hurt me but if it was what he wanted, I would have no intention of making him feel forced or obligated to be with me because it was what I wanted. Either way, I would not leave him. I needed to protect him. To be there for him like I wasn't in year 850. I would keep him safe if it meant selling my right arm. Anything. I couldn't lose him again.

"Levi? Are you alright? You seem to be zoning out a bit." He turned his attention from the screen of my bedroom tv, to me. Frustratingly, I tugged at my hair with my fingers. I had invited Eren to sleep over at my house. Normal kids do that, right? Yeah, they do... I mean, I'm seventeen in a normal life. No titans. No 3-D maneuver gear. Nothing. I wasn't a corporal. Mentally, I groaned. Has remembering year 850 really blurred my perception of being a normal teen? I assumed the answer was yes.

"Yeah, kid. I'm fine. Just a shit-storm of things running through my head. No big deal." I sighed and tried to ignore his confused look.

"You know, you act a lot older than you are." Eren stated, looked back to the tv, plucking pieces of popcorn into his mouth. We'd agreed on watching Titanic. We'd both seen the movie plenty of times, but it was one you can never get sick of. It made me think. Could I have had a life where I'd been on the Titanic? Sure, it's possible. I knew we had more lives than this one and year 850. I remember every nook and cranny of year 850, but all the other ones are but mere blurs. Anytime I attempted to remember those, I would only end up with a killer head ache.

"I've been told." Which made me wonder why. Even though I was only seventeen, I had the speech and mentality of a full grown adult. Perhaps it had to do with having to act older to seem more like a respected leader in year 850? Humanity wanted to make sure they were in good hands with mature leaders who made a promise to aid the extinction of titans.

Was I the only one who remembered? I wanted to rip my hair out from the stress. So many questions and no way to get answers. This was a lot to take in on my own and it sucked. I couldn't confide in anyone, nor could I ask anyone who knew jack shit about this because as far as I knew, I was alone. As per usual.

My eyes widened as I realized something. The reason I recognized Eren so easily because I knew him in other fucking lives. It was comical. I thought maybe I just saw him at a damn super market or something but no. Nothing like this. I couldn't stop my quiet chuckling. Maybe I was losing my damn mind.

"What so funny? Jack just died and you're over here laughing your ass off." Eren asked with a confused facial expression.

"Er, it's just so ironic. I mean, there was substantially enough room on that door for both of them, yet Rose made no move to pull him up onto it. He probably could have lived if she had." Eren nodded as he saw my point.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. That is kind of funny." He smirked a little before setting the bowl of popcorn onto my bedside dresser. My breath hitched in my throat as I saw the bowl slowly teeter over the edge of the dresser.

"Eren!" I pointed to the bowl. Quickly, he reached over and caught it before pushing it farther back onto the dresser. I let out a relieved huff of breath when my perfectly white carpet hadn't been soiled with butter, salt and popcorn kernels.

"You really like being clean, don't you?" Eren mumbled. I'd almost given him a heart attack. I probably overreacted, but I couldn't help not being clean.

"Yeah. Always have and always will." I grumbled. I didn't miss the slight smirk Eren offered.

* * *

The silence was too precious to break. Both of us were still awake, and we knew that. The room was completely dark, save for the strip of moonlight that peeked through my black curtains. It was so quiet in the room we could hear each others synced breaths. A few more minutes passed, and when I thought I wasn't going to get any sleep, I'd started nodding off.

"Levi?" Eren shattered the silence with the utter of my name. My eyes opened and I turned onto my other side to face him and he did the same. My bed was exceptionally small, so our noses were very close to touching.

"What's up?" I whispered. Eren fidgeted and in the line of moonlight shown on his face helped me see his cheeks were a tad pink. Whatever he wanted to say was causing him discomfort, which made my internal "danger" light kick on.

"I just... I've been thinking about it all day and well I can't get it off my mind." He mumbled, playing with the edge of the blanket.

"Well spit it out, brat." I chuckled quietly. His emerald-green eyes met mine.

"You kissed me earlier today. I haven't forgotten. Quite the opposite, actually." My chest constricted. Depending on how this conversation went, it could decipher mine and Eren's relationship. I gulped audibly.

"Oh, right." My voice was gruff and dry.

"Why?" I hesitated and it was back to silence for a few moments. What should I tell him? Should I say it was some kind of an accident? No, that would only make him feel bad. Maybe. It was obvious I couldn't tell him that it was because I had realized we were reincarnated souls bound together again. Time to halfway lie my ass off.

"Well... I like you." Which wasn't a complete lie. Just a stretch. If I remembered correctly, I had actually loved him in year 850. That caught him off guard. His mouth hung open slightly in awe.

"Wha-Really?!" He seemed so shocked and it made my expression soften at the disbelief he felt for someone being attracted to him. I chuckled lightly.

"Well, yes. That's generally why people kiss other people with no context." Eren's surprised expression was short lived and was replaced with a look of complete embarrassment. His cheeks were burning and he hid his face in the blanket. I couldn't help but laugh at how fucking adorable he was. I gently tugged the blanket away from his face so I could talk to him. "... Is that a problem?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"No! No, of course not I mean I-I like you too, Levi." I sighed, relief and complete happiness washing throughout my whole being. So, we laid there for a few more minutes, just looking at each other. What happened next came so suddenly, I'd almost not have seen it. Eren quickly leaned over and pecked my cheek sweetly before turning on his other side so his back was facing me. My cheeks actually burned a little. With a huff I turned onto my other side.

"Dork..." I whispered under my breath lovingly.

* * *

I went to school on Monday just like every other time. Except, first block was different. I sat at my desk and put my head down until class started. I looked up just as I felt a piece of paper being pushed onto my desk. I looked up and my eyes went wide. My mouth dried and my stomach tightened. How could I have forgotten? Erwin. Commander Erwin Smith was my damn English teacher. Except now, he was just a teacher with huge eyebrows that could keep him safe and warm for winter.

"Levi? Are you alright?" He asked, raising said eyebrows. I nodded mutely. This whole reincarnation thing was seriously freaking me out. He continued handing out sheets of paper as kids still filtered in to sit. Eren came in soon enough. After lowering himself into the seat next to me, he gave a bright smile I couldn't help but return. So far he seemed to be in a good mood. "Alright, everyone. We'll be starting a novel today in class. The paper I handed out is the guidelines of the project we'll be working on after reading the book." He started handing out the book and I could have thrown up. The cover was red with a picture of _the colossal titan. _It was titled Attack On Titan and the author was D. Pixis. Now, I was going to chuck the damn book in Erwins face. Maybe his large ass eyebrows would cushion the blow.

According to the back of the book, the story followed the life of Ethan Jagger and his friends Marina Armorman and Aaron Erlet as humanity in year 850, trapped behind walls. They fight terrifying creatures called titans to save humanity. I dropped the book on the desk, along with my head. As if my head ache wasn't bad before, it was now.

"Woah, Levi. What's wrong?" Eren put his hand on my shoulder and whispered to me quietly.

"Nothing. The book looks boring, I guess..."I grumbled, turning my head to the side to look at Eren.

"I don't know. It seems pretty interesting to be honest." He flipped through the book, reading a few excerpts. Of course he would say that. To someone who didn't remember living through mostly the same situation, it would be interesting. Save for the fact I _did_ remember and wanted nothing to do with it.

"Levi, are you not feeling well? You can go to the bathroom or nurse if you'd like." Erwin came over and stood a few feet away from my desk. For some reason, he was making me angry. I shook my head.

"No, thanks." I picked up the book like it was radioactive. We read the first chapter, which basically started off with "Ethan's" life inside the walls and his friends and family. By the time class was over, I felt like punching someone. I wanted to leave the classroom in a rush, but Erwin asked me to stay behind. Even as normal people he had control over me. Eren promised he'd see me at lunch and went to his next period.

"How are you doing today, Levi?" Erwin asked after asking me to pull up a chair to speak with him. I shrugged, not really willing to answer. "You don't seem to be in a very good mood. How are things outside of school?" Jesus, was he a therapist on the weekends? Something to fill up his extra time? Tending to the damn garden of eyebrows on his face should take up enough of his weekend as it was.

"Fine." Short and sweet.

"You don't seem to be very happy about the book we're reading in class. Want to tell me why?" Oh for fuck-sake. Again, I shrugged. "Alright. I need some straight answers here, Levi." He reached into his drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. On the paper was an emblem. I audibly gasped at the sight of the Wings Of Freedom coat of arms. "Do you know what this is?" Did he remember? I hesitated for a moment. "Levi..."

"Wings Of Freedom." I whispered so quietly he probably didn't hear me.

"Say that again?" He said encouraging me to speak up.

"I said, that's the damn Wings Of Freedom." My temper had gotten the best of me. I hardly spoke out against teachers, not feeling it was worth it. But I was already on overdrive with this whole situation. I couldn't hold back my snide remark. He leaned back in his seat as if saying "interesting".

"Right. And you know where the Wings Of Freedom came from right?"

"Year 850. The Recon Corp. Now, I'm done for today." I stood with my bag and made my way for the exit before I threw up.

"Rivaille." I stopped and turned around, glaring slightly at the other use of my name. "Welcome back to us, Corporal."

* * *

**WOAHHHHHH**

**SO MUCH HAPPENED HERE**

**A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT**

**MAYBE TOO MUCH FOR ONLY THE FOURTH CHAPTER BUT AYE WHY NOT**

**...there's a lot a threats about Levi throwing up in this chapter idek man**

**alright guys stay rad~**


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